


Lotus

by Ink_and_Pen_on_Paper



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Ghosts, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, If you can guess what I was watching as I wrote this, Not Beta Read, kudos to you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26674375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_and_Pen_on_Paper/pseuds/Ink_and_Pen_on_Paper
Summary: There is a sheltered cove at the foot of the rock, vines, trees, and bushes hiding the area from prying eyes.She steps past the vegetation and rushes towards the base of the rock. Two piles of rocks have already formed. One has a lotus flower sitting on the pile, forever frozen in time by some unknown force. The other has a single white lily, just as well-preserved as the lotus.
Relationships: Original Female Character & Original Female Character, Original Female Character & Original Male Character
Kudos: 1





	Lotus

She sits at the edge of the dock, feet dangling off the edge. The lake below shines softly as she dipped her toe past the surface of the water. The sound of children running rampant and their ecstatic screams sound out from the distance, but she makes no move to stand up and walk towards them.

She merely raises her head to stare across the surface of the lake at the lotus flowers, tilting her head slightly as she pushes herself off the edge of the dock.

With a splash she sinks into the murky water. She opens her eyes, then pushes herself through the water back towards the surface of the lake. She kicks her legs behind her, then slowly crept away from the shore.

A couple of boys are messing around on a wooden boy, not far from where the girl floats in the water. One of them runs up to the helm of the boat, laughing in a language that is familiar to the girl's ears. She watches them for a few moments, then ducks back down into the water. 

The muddy water rushes by her ears as she darted through the murky depths. She doesn't resurface until she reaches the other shore. Pulling herself up onto the sandy banks, the lake water slips off her like rainwater off a duck's feathers. She reaches toward the ground with webbed hands and grips a sun-bleached branch of wood.

The stick drags in the sand behind her as she wandered along the shore. Dull silver eyes scan over the expanse of the shore.

It's calming. She can't remember the last time when it wasn't quiet. It's been a while, perhaps years, ever since the fires burned the pier, since the only thing one could smell for miles around were blood and rust and ashes and fire and pain and pain and pain and death and-

And bodies falling into the lake, pushed down by cruel calloused hands.

Yes. Things are better now. People don't notice her anymore, but she's fine with being invisible if it means her home is safe. The bad people don't come anymore, but she keeps an eye out for them anyway. 

Maybe there was a time when she was human, perhaps even alive, but for now, now is just now, and she is content.

She drops the stick and breaks into a sprint along the beach, purple robes flowing out behind her. Her bare feet pass through the branches and pebbles that litter the beach. She passes by a couple that lounges on the beach, and just as neither notice her, she pays them no attention.

She skids to a stop somewhere where the sand starts to fade into grassy dirt and trees. A towering wall of rock stands before her not far in the distance.

She takes a step forward, then pauses and spins around, darting back into the lake. Moments later she resurfaces with two stones, one blue-grey with pink streaks, the other a striking gold, both worn smooth by years sitting at the bottom of the lake. She slips them into the sleeves of her robes and starts jogging forward towards the mountain.

Somewhere along the way, she forgets that she no longer has a real body, and ends up taking the long route, winding around the patch of thorn bushes. She doesn't remember until a while later when her hand passes through a branch. Being so far from the lake is dangerous, but she pushes forward regardless.

There is a sheltered cove at the foot of the rock, vines, trees, and bushes hiding the area from prying eyes.

She steps past the vegetation and rushes towards the base of the rock. Two piles of rocks have already formed. One has a lotus flower sitting on the pile, forever frozen in time by some unknown force. The other has a single white lily, just as well-preserved as the lotus. 

She sets the streaked rock on the pile with the lotus, and the gold rock on the pile with the lily, then gets to her knees and claps her hands together in a praying position.

She's long forgotten why she makes these weekly rounds. All she knows is that it's important. Perhaps honoring someone she lost when she was human, like she's seen the ones in town do when they lose ones they love. That's just all the more reason for her to continue.

She bows, then climbs back up to her feet. Parents perhaps? Or maybe friends? She can't remember. All she knows is that they are important, and even if she can't remember them, she will treasure them.

Branches crack behind her suddenly, and she spins around. Two children stand behind her, a boy and a girl, both with stunning golden eyes, and both staring straight at her. The girl is dressed in the purple robes of the region, and her hair is held back out of her face by a silver hairpin. The boy, meanwhile, is dressed in robes of blue and white, and his hair falls into his face, covering his left eye. She recognizes the boy's robes- they're familiar, really familiar, but she can't name where she's seen them before, because she's never seen people with those robes on the lake before.

She moves in front of the two stone piles, eyes narrowing. It's dangerous. She's too far from the lake. If they can see her, they can harm her.

The two children take a step back, the golden-eyed girl pushing the younger boy behind her and meeting the girl's stare with another glare.

"Who are you." The golden-eyed girl says.

"Do not know." Is the ghost's reply. The words come out crackly and warbled, awkward, after years, perhaps decades, of disuse. "You?"

The girl's eyes narrow. "Alive. That's for sure."

"Why here?"

"Exploring. And if father realizes that there's a ghost bound to something out here-"

A snarl rips through her throat as she dashes in front of the pile of stones. "No. No hurt them. Precious. Dead. Protectors. No harm." The thoughts in her mind whirl around, yet the words she needs to explain then never come.

The younger boy tugs on the girl's sleeve. "It's okay." The older girl shoots him a look. He ignores her, then steps forward.

"What's your name?" He turns to the silver-eyed girl.

She shakes her head. "Do not know."

"Oh." The boy purses his lips. "That's too bad. I'm Storm. That's my cousin, Allison, but we just call her Ally."

The girl blinks, then nods. Ally and Storm, she runs through her head. They're not familiar to her, but they're the first names she's encountered in years nonetheless.

"How about we give you a name?" The boy speaks up again.

The girl's eyes widen slightly, and she lowers her guard, drawing her feet back closer together and standing upright. "Okay."

"Storm." Ally hisses, grabbing her cousin by the shoulder and whipping around. "That thing isn't human. Why are you talking to it?" The words are spat at a volume that would normally be inaudible, but the girl has had sharper hearing than the average human for a long time, perhaps even while she was alive.

"She seems nice." Storm whispers back. "She's not like the other ones we've seen. Those ones have too many arms and eyes and too much blackness around them. This one has a human body and face and almost no blackness at all." 

"That doesn't mean she's human."

"She may not be alive, but she's just as human as we are."

Ally's eyes narrow at the words, then she straightens up and sighs. "Are you always here?"

The ghost scrunches up her nose in confusion.

"Are you bound to this place, the rocks? Where are you the most."

The ghost blinks, then shakes her head and points in the direction of the lake. "Water. Lotus. Wooden shore."

Ally nods her head, then spins around. "Come on." She rests her hand on Storm's shoulder. "We need to report this to my father."

"But we haven't given her a name yet."

"Think one up on the go." Ally shoots the girl a glare. "Now come on." Storm stares at his Ally, then shoots the girl one last look before running off into the woods with his cousin.

The girl stands there by the two piles of rocks. Those two, sorcerers, perhaps, if they could see her. But there was only one sorcerer family in the area, and they had been wiped out when-

Flames, screaming, ashes, pain, pain, pain pain pain painpainpainpain-

-a long time ago. She could understand the blue robes; the boy was from another region entirely. But the girl was in purple robes, much like the ones she herself wears. And the boy was a cousin. Perhaps a relative by marriage? She couldn't be certain. But if the girl really was a direct descendant then that meant-

A chance. A chance. Maybe they survived. Maybe they fled, and returned while she was in the blackest of black. Maybe while she was gone they rebuilt and-

And she dared to hope.

She draws in a shaking breath, then steps away from the stones. She'll worry about it later. Her hands are starting to dry out. She's been too far from the lake for too long.


End file.
